Traveling in Israel – in Hebrew
In this video, we encounter a variety of words and expressions that are key to traveling like an Israeli.
לטייל
The first such word is לטייל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-1.m4a” /]. This means to travel, but it’s not travel in the utilitarian sense of getting from Point A to Point B. Rather, this is to travel leisurely. The noun form of this active-intensive verb is טיול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-2.m4a” /] – a trip of a leisurely quality.
Typically, for Israelis, this leisurely trip involves traveling by foot or hiking. In fact, the proper Hebrew term for hiking is טיול רגלי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-3.m4a” /] – leisurely travel by foot, but for most Israelis, the word טיול already presumes that this will be a hiking trip. To go hiking is לצאת לטיול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-4.m4a” /] – to go out on a trip.
להצטייד
The next critical term is להצטייד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-5.m4a” /] – to gear up, a reflexive-intensive verb of the root צ.י.ד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-6.m4a” /] meaning provisions.
In the video we learn these necessities:
כובע שמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-7.m4a” /] – a sun hat
משקפי שמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-8.m4a” /] – sunglasses
חטיפים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-9.m4a” /] – snacks
קרם הגנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-10.m4a” /] – sunscreen
מסטיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-11.m4a” /] – chewing gum (to masticate is to chew)
אוזניות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-12.m4a” /] – headphones/earphones
Okay, maybe some of these aren’t true necessities.
להתייבש
By far though, the most critical necessity for hiking in Israel’s hot sun is מים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-13.m4a” /] – water. Because if we don’t drink enough water, אפשר להתייבש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-14.m4a” /] – we can dehydrate. חס וחלילה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-15.m4a” /] – God forbid.
להתייבש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-16.m4a” /], like להצטייד, is a reflexive-intensive verb. Its root is י.ב.ש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-17.m4a” /] meaning dry. So להתייבש is literally, to get dried up.
להכיר את הארץ
What do Israelis look for כשהם יוצאים לטייל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-18.m4a” /] – when they go hiking? להכיר את הארץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-19.m4a” /] – to get to know the land. As opposed to the word לדעת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-20.m4a” /], which in Modern Hebrew means to know something cerebrally, intellectually, the word להכיר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-21.m4a” /] means to know something emotionally, spatially, as well as to get to know something – or someone.
Likewise, להכיר את הנוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-22.m4a” /] means to get to know the landscape or the scenery.
Like the family in the video, many Israelis look for אתרי מורשת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-23.m4a” /] – heritage sites when they go hiking – כשהם יוצאים לטייל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-24.m4a” /]. The word מורשת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-25.m4a” /] comes from the root י.ר.ש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-26.m4a” /] meaning inheritance.
החיפוש
Perhaps everyone שיוצא לטייל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-27.m4a” /] – who goes hiking – is looking for meaning, on some level. This is חיפוש אחר משמעות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-28.m4a” /] – a search for meaning. In fact, Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning is entitled, in Hebrew, האדם מחפש משמעות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-29.m4a” /] – literally, Man Searches for Meaning.
Just as they are looking for something profound, Israelis are likely to search for deep pools in which to swim. A natural spring is a מעיין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-30.m4a” /] or, more poetically, an עין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-31.m4a” /]. You may recognize the word עין from the body part – it also means eye. When connected to another word in an of (construct) relationship, עַיִן becomes עֵין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-32.m4a” /].
But Israelis can’t get away from the deeper significance of the places in Israel they visit. Thus when naming a מעיין, they’re likely to invoke an event from Israeli history, as we see in the case of עין אלוהים – עין ג’וחה – עין לבנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לטייל-LD-33.m4a” /].